Swine flu has killed 36 US children so far: CDC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new H1N1 swine flu virus has killed 36 U.S. children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday.

It said 67 percent of them had high-risk medical conditions putting them more at risk of severe disease, such as asthma, or were disabled with conditions such as cerebral palsy, but 22 percent of the children were under 5 and perfectly healthy.

"As of August 8, 2009, CDC had received reports of 477 deaths associated with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in the United States, including 36 deaths among children aged under 18 years," CDC researchers wrote in the agency's weekly report on death and disease.

"The results of that analysis indicated that, of 36 children who died, seven (19 percent) were aged under 5 years, and 24 (67 percent) had one or more of the high-risk medical conditions."

The new H1N1 swine flu was declared a pandemic in June and has been spreading globally since then. It has been active in the United States since it was first identified in April -- very unusual for influenza, which is only usually active in cooler months.

It is known to affect older children and young adults more than seasonal flu does, something that has concerned doctors. Seasonal flu can kill perfectly healthy children as well as those with medical conditions, but doctors have worried there could be more deaths among children because children are being affected more.

The CDC team said it is important to identify and treat children with H1N1 quickly, especially if they have severe disease or if they fall into a high-risk group, such as children with asthma, diabetes or other chronic conditions.

Quick treatment with the antiviral drugs Tamiflu, made by Roche AG under license from Gilead Sciences, or GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza, can help reduce how long and how severe a flu infection is.

A vaccine against H1N1 will not be ready until October, officials say.

Another factor that can worsen a child's bout with flu is a so-called bacterial co-infection -- when they are infected with bacteria such as Streptococcus along with the flu.

"Among 23 children with culture or pathology results reported, laboratory-confirmed bacterial coinfections were identified in 10 (43 percent), including all six children who were aged under 5 years, had no recognized high-risk condition, and had culture or pathology results reported," the report reads.

"Eight (22 percent) of the 36 children were aged under 5 years with no reported high-risk conditions."

The CDC estimates that well over a million Americans have been infected with H1N1 and the infection is expected to spread widely as schools return to session after a summer break.